Many people know the Library as that quite place where people mostly come to read and do research, the old traditional Library that the South African Library was once was or still is. This nature of a library must not serve the purpose that a library must serve in this modern times, which is the transferring of knowledge and ideas for the betterment or progress of a community.
Beyond study and research, the library must give people space to share ideas and expand their talent and creative being. As much as human beings absorb, they must also release, it is their releasing that makes them and their respective communities progressive. For e.g, a car does not move by burning absorbed fuel only, it must also release that fuel through the exhaust pipe in order for it to start moving, if it does not release smoke it might blow up as much as the human brain will go nuts if it does not release the information or the creativity in it.
When People share their ideas with others, it is easy to come up with feasible solutions to the so many social ills faced by the communities of mzansi in this day and time. With the resources available at the library, individuals can share their ideas to the right audience and spread them throughout the world wide web with the free internet and wifi offered by the Library!
Let me also mention (from personal experience) that at the library, one can meet many people who at least share the same interests with him. It is at the library that one gets to engage in discussions with people of same interests, further upgrading his/her knowledge of a particular interest. This is also part of self development via information, which the Library is responsible of. So the Library must see to it that it provides space also for people to be freely engaged in a discussion without fear of disturbing those who read better in graveyard silence.
In summary, what i am saying is that the library must move from the old traditional culture to a creative vibrant free platform! The Library must host debates, art expo's and other events that promote a certain positive idea or topic. There is someone I know who usually goes to the library in Katlehong, he has an idea of a pool tournament software, the thing is, he is short of graphic designers and those who will capture data for him. This problem of his can be easily solved by him making a presentation to graphic designers and others who usually come to the library, he can then get people who will volunteer to help him where he needs help, simple as that. I would like to applaud ekurhuleni libraries for their poetry slam initiative, this though is still a minor step, it only means that we are ready to move on to the other steps, radically so.
